--- title: "Catch of the Decade: Cristèl Klandermans" date: 2026-06-15T13:34:00+02:00 author: Nina Swaep canonical_url: "https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/catch-of-the-decade-cristèl-klandermans/" section: Articles --- ![Catch of the Decade: Cristèl Klandermans](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1800x880_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9328_HIG_349.jpg) [ Interviews ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/interviews/)# Catch of the Decade: Cristèl Klandermans **She is certainly our June** ***Catch of the Month*****—but perhaps Cristèl Klandermans is secretly our Catch of the Decade. For the past ten years, she has been putting other brands in the spotlight from her HIG-based, thriving PR agency,** [**Today’s Specials**](https://www.todaysspecials.nl/)**. Now it’s time to turn that spotlight around and shine it on Cristèl. Curious to discover how she has experienced ten years at HIG? Read on!** 1. ***Stories worth sharing*****—for sixteen years now. How did Today’s Specials begin?** “Straight after completing my degrees in Journalism and Communications, I joined a magazine where I spent all day writing. Although I genuinely love writing, it felt like a little too much of a good thing. Someone then suggested an alternative I hadn’t considered myself: working at a PR agency. It was a great introduction to the profession, but everything there was rather traditional, so I soon started looking for ways to broaden my horizons. After a brief stop at a strategic agency, I decided to start my own business. Strangely enough, the constant buzz of PR life suits me much better than working for a single brand. I’ve always thrived with a hundred plates spinning at once,” she says with a laugh. 2. **That doesn’t surprise us—you seem like an entrepreneur through and through. Is entrepreneurship in your blood?** “Not at all! My mother panicked and said, ‘Cris, what are you going to do?’ Looking back, I understand her reaction, given that it was right in the middle of the financial crisis. But I had complete confidence in it! I had built the entire PR division at the strategic agency, and I was already working on several exciting projects *on the side*. One of them was [Barrelproof](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/a-visit-to-barrelproof-lab/), Arno van Eijmeren’s cocktail lab. It was a tiny business, but it had an amazing story. We generated a great deal of media attention for it, and people from all directions began asking Arno who had handled the PR. That collaboration became an excellent calling card for me. It was the true beginning of Today’s Specials! And the best part is that things have now come full circle: Barrelproof also moved into the building last year!” 3. **And after that flying start, what happened next?** “I was fortunate to have built a fantastic network through my previous jobs in hospitality. My best friend ran Blender, Level and Elit, former colleague Dennis Ebeli launched Oranjebitter, and the list goes on. My first clients mainly came from that circle of successful friends. During those early days, I still worked from home—until I landed a client that made me think, ‘Right, I really need a proper workspace now.’ That’s how I moved into my first office: an otherwise unlettable apartment above Café Kade 4. You had to navigate a maze and enter through the back, but it had a bar and a rooftop terrace overlooking the Oude Haven, where we could host drinks for our business contacts. What a time that was! So unprofessional, yet so incredibly enjoyable,” she says with a broad smile. 4. **It must be fun to look back on those ‘good old days’, right?** “Absolutely! Looking back, it was all part of the process. That first ‘office’ enabled me to start hiring people—first interns and then actual colleagues. Eventually, however, we reached a point where the space was no longer presentable enough. I then spent some time renting a space in a friend’s office building here in Kralingen. But I have very particular ideas about company culture. You spend around forty hours a week together in the same space, working hard, so I think it’s incredibly important to create the right atmosphere. We were still essentially guests there, so it wasn’t long before we needed somewhere new.” 5. **How did you eventually find your way to HIG?** “Well, it was actually quite an honour, because they approached me! HIG had recently changed ownership, and the organisation was looking for a diverse range of businesses with which to build its community. They didn’t yet have a PR agency, so they invited us to come and take a look. We did, and once I arrived, I didn’t need much time to think. This was it! Fortunately, ten years later, it’s still a 100% match. When our team was a little larger a few years ago, I suddenly had a minor panic. I thought, ‘What if a larger office doesn’t become available? Where would I go?’ I don’t want to move anywhere else!” “Countless drinks, parties and collaborations later—including projects with other *agencies* and, of course, HIG itself—Het Industriegebouw still feels like home. The building has become part of our identity. To me, it’s a breeding ground for talent and an incredibly diverse place filled with wonderful people, memories and spaces. The icing on the cake was the tenth anniversary of Today’s Specials, which we celebrated in style at the Maaskantine. That definitely calls for a sequel…” 6. *Curious about the workspaces in our building? Explore all our available* [*workspaces and offices*](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/work-spaces/)*, or get in touch to discuss the possibilities.* 7. **When you think about your own company, what makes you particularly proud?** “I have to say, it means a great deal when clients return after trying somewhere else—as De Kuyper distillery did this year, for example. In creative partnerships, it’s quite common for large companies to explore other options after about five years. That makes it an even greater compliment when they return to you,” Cristèl explains. “Of course, landing very well-known names is always exciting, but I also particularly enjoy the challenge of working with smaller brands. Our creative campaigns can make a genuine difference for them.” “I’m also quite proud that, over the years, I’ve realised how important it is for me to work with a certain type of person. It took some time to find the courage, but last year we stopped working on several projects that drained our energy. That decision, combined with becoming AI-ready, has completely reignited the fire within Today’s Specials over the past year. We have now become true *all-rounders* in PR, marketing and social media.” “Alongside embracing the technology, I’ve also managed to build a fantastic team of *creatives* over the past year. And I certainly couldn’t have achieved any of it without my wonderful sidekick, Noa,” Cristèl concludes with satisfaction. ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9328_HIG_279.jpg) ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9328_HIG_414.jpg) ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9328_HIG_209.jpg) [ ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_910x600_crop_center-center_90_none/Schermafbeelding-2026-06-30-om-14.26.08.png) #### Interviews ### HIG’s Heatwave Plan: De IJsmaker ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/higs-heatwave-plan-de-ijsmaker/) [ ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_910x600_crop_center-center_90_none/Schermafbeelding-2026-06-08-om-16.08.27.png) #### Interviews ### Meet Studio ASSAÏS ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/meet-studio-assa%C3%AFs/)